Colton Smith, a senior at Rockmart High School, was honored by the Polk School District Board of Education Tuesday night.

Smith was the only Polk County student to score at "platinum" level on a Georgia Work Ready assessment test. The tests were given to 355 students at Cedartown High School and RHS on Jan. 13.

The tests are a partnership between industry and education in Georgia to certify that a graduating student is "ready for the workplace." At the high school level, the tests allow students to gauge their skill and education level for selected jobs -- and to make adjustments as necessary so they can graduate with a Work Ready Certificate.

Of the 355 students tested in Polk County, school board members learned, 82 percent were certificate ready. Of those, 14.4 percent tested at gold and platinum levels.

Smith was the only student to measure at the platinum level, which states that a student is ready for 99 percent of all jobs available in the state of Georgia.

There were 41 students who measure at gold level -- ready for 90 percent of all jobs.

The silver level had the largest number, 173 students, ready for about 65 percent of the jobs in Georgia. Another 76 measured at bronze level, 35 percent of the jobs.

Other students came under the bronze level or, in the case of 14 students, tests were incomplete. School staff said the incompletes were due to students being pulled out of school for the day, before the testing was completed.